Fly To The Heavens
by Samwise the Strong
Summary: The time has come for Isildur's bane to be revealed. A young hobbit will face the challenge of his life. By his side is his faithful Sam and the even more faithful dwarf, Fili. Sequel to "Fly Away Little Birds". Might be considered a crossover, but decided to just put it under LOTR. Need a reference point? Read FALB!
1. Chapter 1

Fly To The Heavens Chapter 1

(Sequel to Fly Away Little Birds)

After the reclaiming of Erebor and the death of Kili, Fili had returned to the Shire to live with their friend and former master, Bilbo. All seemed well enough with Fili, but Bilbo knew that there was no small amount of guilt and a massive amount of self-loathing going on. Still, Fili tried to stay as light of heart as he could for Bilbo's sake. And when he could not, he found it was best to get away. Travel here and there. Wherever his miseries didn't seem to be. He never went back to Ered Luin, or as far as Erebor, but he traveled around the Shire, Evendim, Breeland and The North Downs. He avoided the East Chetwood, as it was the source of much past pain, but he had been all over the North lands, even skirting along the Southern edges of Angmar.

Along the way, he met many interesting people, having come into the contact with the Rangers of the North on more than one occasion. He had never met their leader, Aragorn, but they spoke so highly of him that he was sure that this man must surely be great. He never really told any who he truly was, or what he was doing, or what his true purpose might be. He was not sure that he even knew what his true purpose was at the moment. In all truth, it didn't really matter to him whether or not he had a purpose. Maybe he didn't...

One day, he returned to Bag End and found a young hobbit living there with Bilbo. At first Fili was not sure what to make of this. "Bilbo, you seem to have acquired something new while I was away." He said as he came into the parlor after having been gone for something like a year. The very sight of the travel worn dwarf seemed to frighten the young hobbit, but Bilbo came out of the kitchen to greet Fili with a great hug.

"Fili, my friend!" Said the hobbit. "It has been so long. I was beginning to worry."

"Sorry Bilbo." Fili said as they broke the hug. "So who is your young friend here?"

"Ah yes. Fili, this is Frodo, my young cousin, but he calls me uncle." Bilbo turned to Frodo, who rose and came over to them. "Frodo, this is my dear friend Fili. Fili lives here as well."

Frodo just stared at Fili for a moment. The dwarf was more than a little imposing, as he was taller, stouter, and looked as though he had not maintained his beard much in his recent travels. "So sorry." Fili said. "I must look terrible."

"Well you have been away for a long time. The road makes for very weary people." Bilbo said. "Anyway, Frodo will be living with us from now on. His parents have passed away, and I have taken him in as my heir."

"That's very good of you, Bilbo. I am sure he will fit in very well with us." Fili said. "Now I must be off to pretty myself up a bit so that I can be a little less scary."

"Of course." Bilbo said.

Fili never really got along with Frodo, or at least he never had the relationship with Frodo that he had with Bilbo. Also, Fili continues to travel and go places for weeks on end, which seemd to frustrate Frodo for some reason. But again, Fili found himself away when a momentous occasion was about to take place. Bilbo was about to celebrate his one hundred and eleventh birthday. Fili had no choice but to come home. When he did, he found Bilbo was greeting Gandalf. Fili hadn't seen Gandalf in many years, so he didn't know if he should interrupt.

The he saw something ever more terrifying. Lobelia Sackville-Baggins had come to harass Bilbo. Fili hid in the bushes, not wanting to meet her either. Crazy hobbit woman. Vile as ever. He thought he had avoided her completely, but he was wrong when she parted the bushes and found him hiding there.

"Well if it isn't the wayward dwarf." She said.

"Hello Lobelia."

"Don't hello me, you loathsome former slave dog!"

He so loved her insults. "What do you want, Lobelia?"

"You tell Bilbo that if he intends to leave, like everyone is hinting at, he should leave the house to us, his family. Not that little brat he's been harboring."

Bilbo was considering leaving? This was only marginally news. Fili had known that someday he had planned to go off. But why now? Something he should ask Bilbo himself. "Always lovely seeing you, Lobelia."

"Just know that when I get the house, you go out on the streets! Maybe I'll even have them run you out of the Shire. You don't belong here, you know."

"Goodbye Lobelia." He wanted to end on a more vicious note, but knew it was unwise, seeing that his position in the Shire was more than a little tenuous, even now. He walked past her and into the house. "Bilbo?" he whispered as he went into the kitchen. "She gone. There is speculation on whether or not you plan to leave. Care to elaborate?"


	2. Chapter 2

Fly to The Heavens Chapter 2

By the time Frodo returned to the house after the party, Bilbo had gone, but the ring remained. There in the sitting room was Gandalf. He went to the old wizard. "So he's gone. I had always thought he was joking when he said he was going to leave. He always used to joke about serious things."

"He did indeed." Gandalf said. He's left you everything, including his ring."

"I see." Frodo said.

"He always meant to do this," Fili said from the entryway as he walked into the sitting room.

"I would have gone with him, if he had asked."

"He knew you were not ready." Fili said. "That you were still in love with the Shire. Don't worry. We'll see him again someday."

"You know you're still welcome here, right Fili?" Frodo said. "Bilbo has allowed you here all these years. Now that I am master of Bagend, that will not change."

Fili did not know what to say to this. He had not assumed that Frodo would have even thought about it yet. "You have my thanks." Fili said, somewhat bemused.

"Of course." The hobbit said.

"So everything goes." Gandalf said. "And speaking of going, I must be off myself."

"But you've only just arrived, Gandalf. I expected you might be staying for a bit."

"So did I, but there is something I must see to." The old wizard told him. "The ring...Keep it safe, and keep it secret. It is best if it is not used. Bilbo's possession of it has always made me anxious. Your possession of it doesn't alleviate that feeling at all."

"I will, Gandalf." The hobbit said.

Gandalf made ready to leave, and as he did, he pulled Fili aside. "Fili, I want you to look after Frodo while I am gone. And when I say that, I mean you must cease your wanderings and keep an eye on him full-time."

"What is it that you fear?" the dwarf asked.

"I am not sure of anything yet. However the feeling that I have cannot leave me. I must explore it."

"I have not stayed here for any length of time since me and Kili lived here together." Fili said. "So many memories."

"And yet attempting to avoid them through aimless wanderings is useless. Kili's death was not your fault, Fili. His death was the result of your cousin and uncle's failings, not yours."

"Still, I can't help but feel responsible." Fili said.

"I understand. But right now, I am counting on you. Can I depend on you, Fili, son of Dis?" Gandalf asked, staring at the dwarf pointedly.

"You can depend on me, Gandalf the Grey." Fili said, trying to sound as confident as possible.

"Good." The wizard said. And shortly thereafter, the wizard was gone and Fili took up his duties of watching over Frodo.

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Seventeen years passed in the Shire, and in all truth, Fili was feeling them. He had taken his promise seriously, and had stayed in the Shire, watching over Frodo. But past wounds and age were catching up with him somehow. He felt old and bogged down despite the fact that he was only one hundred forty-three, which actually wasn't that old for a dwarf. He attributed it to years of hard living that he was not responsible for.

In those years, he continued to make tools and help the Gamgees in the fields and garden. While he was slowing down somewhat, he was still stronger than h they were. All the time, he kept an eye on Frodo. One night, Frodo left the house, which meant that Fili was alone to care for it for a bit. Fili wasn't really that welcome at the inns of the Shire. He only went when he really felt the need for alcohol and marginal company. That night, a visitor he did not expect arrived.

There was a knock at the door, and when he opened it, there was Gandalf. "I was thinking that perhaps you were never coming back." Fili said, somewhat sardonically.

"It is good to see you too, Fili son of Dis." Gandalf replied. "Where is Frodo?"

"He's gone out drinking tonight. He'll probably be back late."

"And where is the ring?" Gandalf asked.

Fili looked at a wooden box in the corner. "I think it is in there."

"Really? That's Belladonna's old chest." Gandalf said. "Bilbo only kept the most precious of objects in there."

"What is the significance?" Fili asked. He knew Bilbo only kept his true treasures in there, and that there were a few things of Kili's in there as well, as Kili and Belladonna had been very close.

"I merely find it ironic somehow." Gandalf said. "I cannot say why just yet."

Gnadalf went over and dug in the chest. He found papers, books, a lock of Belladonna's hair. A lock of hair from Frodo's mother, a chestnut braid that somehow made him nervous, and finally, the small box with the ring in it. He opened the box but did not take the ring. "Fili, take the ring out of the box."

Fili did not ask why, he merely did it, though he felt nervous handling Frodo's ring. Maybe it was whatever was left over feelings from being a slave and not being allowed to handle anything he was not told to handle for ten years. This was not a request from Frodo, the owner of the object, it was a request from Gandalf, someone who merely wanted him to do something. The whole situation made him unduly nervous, but he held the ring out in his hand.

"What's so important about this ring?" The dwarf asked.

"Possibly nothing, which would please me greatly." Gandalf said. "Do you remember how Bilbo came by it?"

"In the goblin caves, when he met that Gollum creature." Fili said.

"So he told you some of the truth. And I assume you know what it does."

"It makes you invisible." Fili said.

"Yes indeed," said Gandalf. "But it's true power may be greater than that."

"Again I will ask, what do you fear, Gandalf?"

"That this may be a very special ring. Not simply a trinket or lesser ring."

"You refer to Isildur's Bane." Fili said.

Gandalf looked at him in surprise. "You know the true name of this thing? How is that?"

"I have read the books in Bilbo's study, and I have met many people who knew many things. In fact, I met some very interesting Rangers in The North Downs. I must say that Esteldin is not as well hidden as it should be. Actually they thought me a spy and held me captive for a while, but I learned quite a bit while I was there."

"You may be more amazing than hobbits, Fili." Gandalf said with a smile.

"The Rangers were worried, Gandalf. Worried about what was happening in Angmar. Their lord may have left many long years ago, but it is no less active."

"I see." Gandalf said worriedly. "Bring the ring over to the fire. I wish to see something."

Fili went ahead and did as he was asked. Gandalf told him to drop it in the fire. Fili was aghast! If he ruined the master's property! "Trust me." Gandalf said. Fili did, and what they discovered was very disturbing. When Frodo arrived at the house that night, Gandalf informed him that they must make ready to leave, for the ring was dangerous. Frodo agreed after some explanation. Fili said he would go with Frodo, and he was not the only one, for they had caught Samwise Gamgee listening in. So Frodo and his two servants would set off on an adventure.

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Thank you so much for following and faving. Thank you to Hello Smiles for reviewing. Cheers! STS


	3. Chapter 3

Fly To The Heavens Chapter 3

After seventeen years of being bound to The Shire, Fili was glad to be getting out again. In the years after Kili's death, he had drowned out his sorrow with satisfying his wanderlust. Things were a little different now though, as he know had a couple of annoying hobbits to take care of. He hadn't taken care of anyone in a long time either. Frodo had left that night under the guise of going to see relatives in Buckland due to some family emergency. Or at least that was the note he had left on his door. And when people saw notes on the doors of Bagginses, they knew it was probably best to leave it be. At that point, Gandalf was still with them. But Fili was sure that Gandalf would find some reason to go off on some other errand. Fili loved that they had the protection of a wizard, but hated the fact that they were so very fickle.

Somewhere near Frog Morten, Gandalf left them, leaving Fili in charge. Since Frodo didn't trust Fili the way Bilbo had, neither of them knew if this was a good decision, however, it was the only option they had. The road was not safe, and both Fili and Gandalf knew this. Fili thought it best if they cut across country instead of going directly down the road. He was both right and wrong in that. For it was outside of Frog Morten that they ran into a Tookish Rogue names Peregrin Took who liked nothing better than asking questions. He had gone a little off road himself, and was glad that he had been found. Sitting on a rock under a great tree, the hobbit watched as the dwarf, along with Sam and his cousin, came wandering through the forest. When Fili saw Pippin, he was not sure what to make of him.

"Peregrin Took?" He said confusedly.

"Indeed, it is I, Peregrin Took. But even you can call me Pippin, Fili. You know that."

"I do. I am just wondering what a young Hobbit lordling like yourself is doing out here in the middle of the Wilderlands?"

"Ah, funny story, that." The hobbit said as he jumped down from his rock and came toward the group. "See, me and cousin Merry, we were heading back toward Buckland, because I was going to stay with him and Fredigar for a while. Well we were making our way down the road when suddenly, a figure on a great black horse came along and ran us off the road."

"The rider ran you off the road?" Frodo asked.

"He sure did, Frodo, but it was all because we wouldn't tell him where "Baggins" was. We were actually making quite a bad joke out of it. I guess he got angry and he chased us on that great black horse of his."

"And what did this person look like?" Fili asked, anxious.

"He was a tall man, not a hobbit, or a dwarf, but a man! And he was all cloaked in black so that we could not see his face. Quite the devil I should think."

"And he said "Baggins"?" Frodo asked.

"Yes, Frodo, he said Baggins." Pippin said. "But we weren't about to tell him where he could find any Bagginses. Well, maybe the Sackville-Bagginses. Nobody likes them." The young hobbit said.

Fili smiled. This young hobbit reminded him so much of Bilbo. Then again, he was now faced with a Took, the same family that Belladonna had come from. Pippin definitely had the Took attitude. Pippin saw the look on his face. "Are you alright, Fili?"

"Yes," said the dwarf. "You just reminded me of somebody. So where are your traveling companions?"

"They ran off on the other side of the road toward Frog Morten. If anything, they've probably made it back to Buckland, the man didn't seem all that invested."

"I see. Then we should get going. If that man comes back looking for your trail, he will find us all. We keep to the forest, and hopefully we lose him."

"Keep to the forest!" Pippin said. "I'm not made for cross country travel."

"I don't see where you have a choice." Fili said as he began to walk on. "Follow me. I know the best route to the ferry."

"But that'll take us past Farmer Maggot's land, won't it?" Frodo asked.

"It will indeed." Fili said. "Is there a problem with that?"

"Oh, Frodo and Farmer Maggot have quite the history." Pippin said. They all began to follow Fili. "Frodo got caught stealing mushrooms from Farmer Maggot. The good farmer gave cousin Frodo quite a beating, and then had him chased off by the dogs."

"I see." Fili said. "I think I know now why Bilbo decided to take you in, Frodo. You're a most mischievous Brundybuck, aren't you?"

"I suppose..." Frodo said. The hobbit wasn't really that interested in talking about that bit of his past. He was a Biggins, and that in itself made him odd. The fact that he lived with Bilbo and his pet dwarf didn't help.

At Farmer Maggot's, they met with Merry, who had run to the safety of the farmer and his dogs. Merry and Pippin were reunited. The journey across the Brandywine would be made via the ferry, but Fili had a bad feeling when they reached the opposite shore. When they got to "Fatty" Bolger's house, the door was broken in, and the house was dark. Fili knew immediately that they should not go in.

"We have to go from here, now." He said as he crouched behind a hedge row.

"But shouldn't we investigate?" Merry said. "Fredigar could be hurt."

"Your friend is dead. Be glad that it is not you."

"How can you be so sure?" Pippin asked from his other side.

"I can tell." Fili said. "Nothing lived in that house any longer. Or at least, nothing good."

"So what should we do?" Merry asked.

"We make for the Old Forest. Me and Kili had been that way before, and I a couple of times after that. If we keep to the path, all should be well."

"Fine," Merry said. He went off to tell Sam and Frodo, who were waiting not far off. Fili watched the house for a moment more, but he knew the shadow moving around in there was not a being they should encounter now. Together, he and the four hobbits made their way into the forest. A forest Fili had not ventured into in many years.

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Hello all. Just checking in. Hope to have more time later. Cheers! STS


	4. Author's note

Hello everyone! I just wanted to let you know that I have created an original piece of fiction based off of "Fly Away Little Birds". It is called "Tales of the Driss, Krystal Dragons" and it is now available on Kindle and soon in paperback. Please ignore the troll review. That was someone who didn't like that I called them on their bullcrap on Twitter. If you liked "Fly Away," you will probably like "Driss". Thank you for your readership. I greatly appreciate it.

Tales-Driss-Krystal-Shara-Maude-ebook/dp/B06XCZKB2X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492556699&sr=8-1&keywords=Shara+Maude


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